Silchar, April 24: Four persons were arrested yesterday for attacking and critically injuring a sub-junior Indian footballer here last evening.

The condition of Jengchun Rongmei, 16, who was attacked near Kendriya Vidyalaya in Tarapur here, is improving.

Siddartha Bhattacharjee, a senior surgeon in Silchar Medical College and Hospital, today saidthe young footballer was out of danger. "He is likely to be discharged in the next two to three days. He will need to rest for at least a fortnight," he added.

Police sources said Rongmei and his three friends, Timon Rongmei, Gosang Rongmei and Kaushik Banik, were walking near the school last evening when they noticed a group of students fighting. The four youths also got involved in the altercation. A group of three to four men carrying iron rods subsequently attacked Rongmei and his friends and an iron rod pierced his chest in the scuffle.

Police sources said Rongmei was left severely injured. Later, a rickshaw-puller, who knew the boy, took him to his residence on Madan Mohan Road here. He was then shifted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

The boy's father, Ram Rongmei, filed an FIR at Silchar police station last night.

Additional superintendent of police Jagadish Das said four persons - Tultul Paul, 56, Dibjoy Paul, 26, Ajit Das, 28, and Mantu Das, 28 - were arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident.

Deputy superintendent of police Sudhangshu Das and Silchar police station officer in-charge Sachindra Chandra Sharma have been asked to take measures to prevent any further untoward incident.

The Silchar District Sports Association condemned the incident and demanded stern action against the culprits. The association's secretary, Babul Hore, said such a "cowardly act" against a sportsman would not be accepted.

Rongmei had represented India in the sub-junior category at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup held in Bangladesh last year. He was also a member of the Indian sub-junior contingent for the Under-16 AFC Cup in Iran in 2012.

He was part of the national team that participated in a special training programme in Spain and Germany. He is also a probable for the Indian team that will take part in the 2017 Fifa Under-17 World Cup to be held in the country.